Freedom Convoy organizer in court and AFN Assembly: In The News for July 5, 2022

She was transported to the capital by police and briefly appeared before an Ottawa judge on Thursday before remaining in custody over the weekend.

Lich was a key figurehead of the massive protest that overtook the capital’s downtown streets for more than three weeks in February.

She and fellow protest organizer Chris Barber are jointly accused of mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation.

Lich was released with a long list of conditions, including a ban from all social media and an order not to support anything related to the “Freedom Convoy.”

There is no word on which bail condition was violated.

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Also this …

The annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations is being held this week in Vancouver under a cloud of criticism from its national chief, who has been suspended and denied entry to the meeting.

RoseAnne Archibald has said her suspension is a violation of the assembly’s charter and that the regional chiefs don’t have the power to suspend the national chief.

She says the suspension is a means to intimidate, punish and silence her over her claims of the possible misuse of public funds by the assembly.

An Ontario court rejected a bid last week by Archibald to overturn her suspension, which was put in place June 17 during an investigation into four complaints against her by her staff.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Police say a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago, killing at least six people and wounding at least 30 others.

The crack and pop of gunshots sent hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror.

Authorities said 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III was named as a person of interest in the shooting and was taken into police custody Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt.

The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life and came as the nation was trying to find cause to celebrate its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

The 30 NATO allies are set to sign off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland today.

It will send the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals.

The move will further increase Russia’s strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February and military struggles there since.

The 30 ambassadors are to formally approve the decisions of last week’s NATO summit when the alliance made the historic decision to invite the two to join the military club.

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And this…

After more than four months of ferocious fighting, Russia claimed full control over one of the two provinces in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

But Moscow’s rout of the last remaining bulwark of Ukrainian resistance in Luhansk province came at a steep price.

The critical question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength for a new offensive to complete its seizure of the Donbas and make gains elsewhere in Ukraine. There are signs Russia is sustaining heavy losses.

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On this day in 1687 …

Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.

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In entertainment …

It looks the case against Canadian-born film director Paul Haggis may be unravelling.

A judge in southern Italy has ordered him freed from detention.

Meanwhile, prosecutors must decide whether to pursue an investigation into whether Haggis had non-consensual sex with a woman over two days.

A rep for Haggis says the judge determined there were no signs of violence or abuse on the woman who made the allegation.

The judge couldn’t be reached to confirm or deny that is the case.

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Did you see this?

A humanitarian flight carrying 230 Ukrainian citizens arrived in Regina on Monday evening, accompanied by a woman whose photo 50 years ago came to symbolize the horrors of another war.

A Saskatchewan government spokesman confirmed Phan Thi Kim Phuc (FOOK) — the girl in the famous 1972 Vietnam napalm attack photo — was aboard the flight carrying refugees from Russia’s war in Ukraine from Warsaw to Canada.

The 59-year-old Kim, who is a Canadian citizen and travelled from Toronto to take part, told the media that she wants her story and work for refugees to be a message of peace.

Her iconic Associated Press photo in which she runs with her napalm-scalded body exposed was etched onto the fuselage of the private non-governmental organization plane that flew the refugees to Regina.

The Saskatchewan government says its officials have been working with the Ukraine Embassy in Canada to co-ordinate assistance and support for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the ongoing war in their home country.

Passengers on the Monday flight were to receive temporary accommodations in Regina, access to key supports and information related to living in Saskatchewan.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5th, 2022

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Freedom Convoy organizer in court and AFN Assembly: In The News for July 5, 2022

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